Mayor Coleen J. Seng today announced that the City has received a Mini Andros Hazardous Device Robot for use in handling explosives. Homeland security funds and private donations paid for the $86,000 robot.

Bill Moody, Chief Fire Inspector and Bomb Squad Commander in the City Building and Safety Department, said the local bomb squad responds to an average of 60 calls involving explosives every year. Those have been handled by bomb technicians wearing special equipment.

“Some situations involving explosives can only be handled by a person, but the robot gives the bomb squad the ability to handle many cases of potential explosives remotely, from a safe distance,” said Mayor Seng. “These are obviously very dangerous situations, and this new robot will improve safety for the public and for those who serve on our bomb squad.”

Moody said the robot is the same type now being used in Iraq. Bomb squad members were trained as part of mandatory training at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. About half of the 425 accredited bomb squads in the country have received robots.